Cost and schedule comparison and risk analysis for pile foundation systems

基础充当从上部结构到下层土壤或岩石的荷载传递介质。必须系统地考虑各种基础类型，并根据上部结构要求、地下条件和经济性选择最优方案。从工程设计的角度来看，不同的桩基体系可以是满足相同目的(即在相同的土质条件下满足相同的荷载要求)的可行方案。然而，从纯粹的设计角度来看，潜在的基础解决方案似乎是最经济的，但如果充分考虑到施工活动的限制，则可能不是最经济的。通过之前的Engage Grant，Pi在艾伯塔大学的建筑工程与管理(CEM)研究小组成功地与Almita合作，对上述三个基础系统进行了成本和进度比较，保持了技术性能的恒定。虽然Engage Grant已经产生了大量产出，但已确定的这些因素证明有必要进行更广泛的研究，以便与阿尔米塔合作，以全面、复杂的方式评估打桩基础建设系统的成本、工期和风险。在后续参与+赠款的目标实现后，A大学研究团队将以总结所有发现的技术报告和计算机模拟工具的形式为Almita提供有效的决策支持，并在不久的将来提供螺旋桩工程和施工的Excel电子表格界面。

A foundation acts as the load transfer media from the superstructure to the underlying soil or rock. It is essential to systematically consider various foundation types and to select the optimum alternative based on the superstructure requirements, the underground conditions, and economy. From the perspective of engineering design, different pile foundation systems can be feasible alternatives to fulfill the same purpose (i.e. satisfying identical loading requirements in identical soil conditions). However, a potential foundation solution may appear to be the most economical from a pure design standpoint, but may not be the most economical when limitations on construction activities are fully considered. Through the previous Engage Grant, PI's construction engineering & management (CEM) research group at the University of Alberta has successfully collaborated with Almita in cost and schedule comparison of each of the three foundation systems named above, keeping technical performance constant. Though substantial outputs had been generated from the Engage Grant, these factors as identified justify the need of extended research in order to evaluate cost, duration and risks of piling foundation construction systems in a comprehensive, sophisticated fashion in collaboration with Almita. Upon realization of the objectives in a follow-up Engagement Plus grant, the U of A research team will lend effective decision-support to Almita in the form of a technical report summarizing all the findings and a computer simulation tool along with Excel spreadsheet interface for helical pile engineering and construction in the near future.